diff --git a/lib/couchrest.rb b/lib/couchrest.rb
index 42ffeca..fc9320f 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@ require "rubygems"
 require 'json'
 require 'rest_client'
 
+$:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) unless
+  $:.include?(File.dirname(__FILE__)) ||
+  $:.include?(File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__)))
+  
+  
 require 'couchrest/monkeypatches'
 
 module CouchRest